India, July 27 -- Four days after Karun Nair was dropped from playing XI for the must-win Test match against England in Manchester, the Indian camp broke their silence on why Sai Sudharsan had replaced him despite getting backing from captain Shubman Gill.

The England tour was supposed to be Nair's redemption series. The 33-year-old had donned the Indian jersey after eight years, having earned a call-up after his record domestic season. However, his redemption tune fell flat, with Nair managing only 133 runs in six innings, with a single half-century score.

Amid speculations on whether Nair ran out of opportunities, Gill came out in the pre-match presser to support the veteran batter, thus ending all the chatter about a possible change ...